South Korea, US, Japan hold anti-North Korea submarine drill

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean, U.S. and Japanese navies are conducting their first anti-submarine drills in six months to boost their coordination against increasing North Korean missile threats. The two-day drills that started Monday come after North Korea unveiled battlefield nuclear warheads and raised worries it may conduct a nuclear test. South Korea’s Defense Ministry says the exercises in international waters off South Korea’s southern island of Jeju involved the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and naval destroyers from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. Underwater launches are hard to detect in advance, and North Korea has tested launching missiles from submarines and other underwater options.